FUJIFILM India Pvt. Ltd., the wholly owned subsidiary of FUJIFILM Corporation, one of the largest medical systems company in the world, today announced that it has won the much coveted 2009 India excellence in Healthcare Award instituted by Frost & Sullivan. FUJIFILM was declared as the best multinational PACS Company of the year. FUJIFILM India also announced that it has bagged orders from 10 hospitals across the country for its revolutionary SYNAPSE brand of PACS system.

According to Mr. Kenichi Tanaka, Managing Director, FUJIFILM India, “The success of SYNAPSE PACS further exemplifies FUJIFILM Corporation’s long term commitment in the healthcare arena. Buoyed by the response, we intend to launch new products & solutions such as Digital Radiography, FFDM, and 3D Image processing SW etc., into the Indian market in the days to come.”

“Medical images can be stored electronically and viewed on screens, so that doctors and other health professionals can access the information and compare it with previous images at the touch of a button. These images can be shared between health professionals across locations over an advanced communications system. It circumvents the delays & cancellations because of patient’s images not being available, lost or misplaced during transit, deterioration in quality over time etc.,” elucidates Mr. Suhas Pokale, Country General Manager, FUJIFILM India Pvt. Ltd.

For the past 100 years, film has been almost the exclusive medium for capturing, storing, and displaying radiographic images but it is a fixed medium with usually only one set of images available. FUJIFILM’s PACS technology allows for a near filmless process, with all of the flexibility of digital systems. It also eliminates all costs associated with hard film and releases valuable space currently used for storage.

For patients as well as the radiographer, even the amount of exposure to radiation gets reduced because fewer images need to be repeated using this technology. What’s more, patients do not have to wait for long for results which also ensures speedier move to the next point of treatment or discharge. Privacy is guaranteed as access to patient’s digital images is rights-based i.e. what they’ll be able to see shall depend on their role and involvement in patient’s care. For example, a consultant will be able to look at a patient’s digital images because they are a clinical care provider, whereas a receptionist may not be able to view clinical information. The images are stored in highly secure database systems.

Since the images are digital in nature, they are more reliable. Unlike film, there are no black spots on images due to bad light. FUJIFILM’s SYNAPSE PACS allows for flexible viewing with the ability to manipulate images on screen enabling better analysis. Moreover, instant access to historic images and patient records facilitates comparison of images (old and new) and thus the measuring of the effectiveness of treatment or the development of patient’s condition.

As a result of electronic requesting, radiographers have all the necessary information available to them in digitalized format. As a result, investigation is appropriate to the request and safer for the patient – misinterpretation of what is handwritten has become a thing of the past. Information only needs to be entered into the system once. This reduces some of the administrative tasks currently undertaken by radiographers, thereby freeing up time to focus on caring for the patient. The ability to manipulate images once they are taken means that radiographers can zoom in on areas of interest to ensure adequate information has been captured, which can then be passed on to the relevant clinician.

Besides, FUJIFILM’s SYNAPSE PACS contributes to a better working environment, as the lack of film processing will result in a quieter and chemical free workspace. Health and safety issues arising out of chemical processing get addressed automatically. It has been observed that patients feel more engaged and better informed when they can see their images on screen, leading to better quality consultations between them and the doctor. Not to forget the fact that PACS frees up valuable space within a hospital as storage rooms will no longer be needed for films. For the hospital, it results in substantial savings as patients are processed more quickly with fewer delays and cost of film and processing chemicals comes down to zero.